Comeback man Yuvraj returns to cheers!

There was a deafening noise at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai when Yuvraj Singh came on to bowl the seventh over of the New Zealand innings on Tuesday.

The southpaw successfully made a return to international cricket after nearly a year ever since he was detected with a rare germ-cell cancer, thanks to rain which did not play spoilsport this time as it did during the first T20 at Vizag on September 8.

The Indian team showed their solidarity for Yuvraj as they wore a ‘YouWeCan’ badge — a foundation started by the cricketer to help cancer patients.

Yuvraj bowled a tight first over conceding only four runs while his second over was a bit expensive, giving away 10 runs. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni applauded Yuvraj’s effort after being powerfully struck on his left hand in an attempt to stop the ball from racing away to the boundary.

Yuvraj Singh (right) and MS Dhoni in action during the 2nd T20 against New Zealand. Pic/AFP

Yuvraj was visibly in pain as he got some treatment before bowling the final ball of his over. It was also a sharp caught and bowled chance. He was, however, replaced by Harbhajan Singh on the field after completing the over. Yuvraj was back on the field after a while, but didn’t get to bowl again, thus finishing with figures of 2-0-14-0.

Yuvraj though delighted team-mates and fans as he gleefully caught a skier at cover point to dismiss James Franklin.

The cheer got only louder when he came to bat after Suresh Raina departed. He started off sensibly before getting into his stride. Yuvraj hit his first boundary in the fourth ball of the 12th over in the third man region. Clearly, Yuvraj’s mother Shabnam was the happiest amongst everyone present at Chepauk.

Yuvraj took a couple off Adam Milne’s next ball before being dropped on the last ball of the over. Yuvraj got a thick top edge to fine leg. Wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum and Kyle Mills went for the catch and in the event collided with each other as the ball rolled out of McCullum’s gloves. Yuvraj got a life and the crowd heaved a sigh of relief.

It was Yuvraj of the old when he effortlessly lofted a tossed up Daniel Vettori’s delivery into the stands over wide long-on. Just as the equation was getting tougher, Yuvraj lofted one into the stands off Jacob Oram in the penultimate over of the match. He was, however, beaten by a slower one from Franklin on 34 (1x4, 2x6s).